Afghanistan shooting raises questions

An investigation has been launched into why an American solider stormed homes in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in the villages of Alkozai and Najeeban, and left 16 civilians dead, including women and children.

According to an U.S. official, only one U.S. soldier appeared to have been involved in the shootings but there have been eye-witness statements that suggest there were multiple soldiers involved.

An ISAF spokesman said the lone U.S. soldier “walked back to the base and turned himself in to U.S. forces this morning”.

It is speculated that the detained soldier is an Army staff sergeant who was married with two children and that he had served three Iraq tours but was on his first Afghan deployment.

It is believed that, some time before the killings, the soldier suffered a nervous breakdown. The real reason behind the incident is currently under investigation and the solider is being questioned. There are concerns that the attack may have been premeditated.

This is just one more incident that is straining the relations in the area, and comes only weeks after American troops unknowingly burned copies of the Quran and other religious material, an act that caused mass protests across the Middle East.